


Not My Best Day

by psiten



Series: SASO 2015 Fills [47]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Adorable Baby Hatemance, Kageyama is too oblivious for this to be actual slash, Kitagawa Daiichi, M/M, Middle School, Sexual Harassment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-24
Updated: 2015-08-24
Packaged: 2018-04-16 22:55:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4643115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psiten/pseuds/psiten
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>He was going to be the best, and he was going to stay the best. That was where geniuses like that damn freshman fell down. When being good comes too easy, you never learn to do the work it takes to be great.</p>
</blockquote><p>Crosspost from the 2015 Sports Anime Shipping Olympics, Bonus Round 1. Original prompt by <a href="http://sportsanime.dreamwidth.org/4049.html?thread=954321#cmt954321">cinderellaboy</a> requested Kageyama Tobio/Oikawa Tooru inspired by the quote: "One may know how to conquer without being able to do it" (Sun Tzu, The Art of War).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not My Best Day

     The familiar sting of sweat was in Oikawa's eyes. Hours of practice to stay on top, to be the best, took their toll -- but he was going to be the best no matter how hard he had to work. He was going to be the best, and he was going to stay the best. That was where geniuses like that damn freshman fell down. When being good comes too easy, you never learn to do the work it takes to be great.

     True story!

     But he knew what it took. He set up for another practice serve, despite his aching palm and legs. He'd lost count of how many he'd done by now, but that was better anyway. Practice just short of your skin breaking through and your muscles giving out, and then practice a little more, and then you're ready to do it for real when the other team was staring you down. Oikawa tried to imagine their eyes beating down on him, the fear building up towards 25 straight service aces, his teammates at the ready for any returns, the twinkling eyes in the grandstand cheering on his every move. The sweeties who met him after to ask for autographs weren't so bad either! But your heart had to stay in the game, he thought with a smile. Right there, in the sweet spot in his mind, _in the zone_ , he set up for the serve. The toss, the--

     "Oikawa-san?"

     Fuckety-fuck-fuck-fuck!

     He nearly tripped over his own toes when his head turned to answer but his feet didn't get the message in time. And there the fucker was, with his cute little demon eyes blinking up a hopeful storm.

     Must not kill, Oikawa reminded himself. Bad for team morale to kill freshmen.

     "Tobio-chan! I told you not to sneak up on me anymore, right? It's, ah... it's not safe. You know?"

     "Pardon me, Oikawa-san. It's just, the freshman have finished passing drills, and since there's some time left for free training before we clean up..."

     Oh boy. Here it came again. He tried not to let his smile look too much like a grimace, but little Tobio-chan seriously could not take a hint!

     "...would now be a good time to ask if I could learn that jump serve you do?"

     "You want to learn my serve, Tobio-chan?"

     "Yes, sir!"

     It was like the kid had zoned in on the one thing he could steal that'd hit closest to home. He was already good enough as a setter that Oikawa had to watch his back, and now he was after the serve that kept Oikawa sure the coach wasn't going to put him on the bench any time soon. And this kid... the way he handled a ball, there was always a chance he'd catch up on speed and accuracy (if not power, scrawny as he was) quick enough to take over everything Oikawa had worked for all these years. A freshman.

     He was like a vampire, sucking out everything that made him himself. Slurping it all up, and becoming everything Oikawa was. Like he could steal it all, and then one day come in with some gel in his lank, flat hair, call himself Tooru, and somehow nobody would know the difference. He'd be replaced by that cocky little brat of a...

     "Umm... Oikawa-san?"

     The sound woke him up from his reverie. It was the only sound in the gymnasium right now, because the rest of the team was watching them. Apparently, while he'd been hating Tobio-chan's guts, he'd managed to back the freshman up against the wall, and now was scowling an inch away from his face -- not that the upstart setter looked scared. Confused as all hell, but not scared like he should've been.

     Best way to keep the club from tearing him off of Tobio-chan, thus avoiding temporary suspension for assaulting a teammate... hmm.

     Smiling his sparkling best, Oikawa tickled the end of the freshman's nose, then cocked his head in as if going for a kiss. "Tell me, Tobio-chan..." he laughed. "How far would you go to learn my serve? Can you tell me that?"

     All around them, teammates and coaches rolled their eyes. Everyone, of course, except the freshman he'd pushed up against the wall. "Do you mean, would I do extra practices? I'll have to tell my mom that I'd be home later, but I don't see any reason why not. I want to be the best I can!"

     Not an ounce of surprise in his voice, Eyes wide and earnest and innocent. Wow. This kid took being unable to read the atmosphere to whole new heights.

     "You can't use the gym unless you can get someone with a key to stay with you, Tobio-chan, and I'm testing for high school so I've got cram school to go to. You want to learn my serve, you have the same opportunity everybody here does. You can watch me, and you can practice on your own. Got it?"

     You'd think it was his birthday with the way the kid's eyes lit up. "Yes, sir!" Those eyes were actually kind of pretty this close up. He was still a tiny demon in disguise, no matter how harmless the rest of the team thought he was, but he had really nice eyelashes, actually. And kind of a pretty mouth.

     Not as pretty as his, though, so no one was going to be mistaking Oikawa's tiny freshman pod person for the real thing any time soon!

     "So... Oikawa-san. W-will you let me go, then? So I can watch you serve?"

     Oh, right. Whoops.


End file.
